DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

A PARTNERSHIP FOR HISTORIC REVITALIZATION:

KNIGHT FOUNDATION AND MERCER UNIVERSITY

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Mercer University are partnering to offer a Down Payment Assistance Program for University employees to encourage the purchase of new or rehabilitated homes in the Intown Macon Historic District.

The Program is a benefit made available to full-time Mercer employees to encourage them to participate in the revitalization of the Intown Macon Historic District neighborhoods surrounding Mercer, where the University is working in partnership with the community to conserve and rebuild the historic urban fabric.  The Beall’s Hill neighborhood, an area of thirty blocks (100 acres) defined and surveyed in the Beall’s Hill Urban Design and Architectural Guidelines, is a particular focus of this Program.

The Program offers Down Payment Assistance to qualified University employees who buy eligible homes in the Intown Macon Historic District and live in the homes for a minimum of five (5) years after the date of purchase.  The amount of the assistance is seventeen per cent (17%) of the purchase price of the completed home, up to a maximum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).

 The University’s contribution will be payable at closing to the homebuyer and the closing attorney.  The University will retain a security interest in the property in the form of a zero-interest Retention Agreement, setting forth the conditions under which the purchaser will be required to repay all or a portion of the University’s contribution.  This repayment obligation may be satisfied through continuous ownership and occupancy of the property over a period of five years (one-fifth of the repayment obligation being satisfied annually on the anniversary date of closing.)  If the property is sold before the end of the initial five-year residency period, a prorated portion of the initial Down Payment Assistance must be repaid to the University at the time of ownership transfer.

The following restrictive covenants must be incorporated into the deed conveying title to the purchaser (Grantee):

1. Grantee covenants that the property will not be used for any other purpose than owner- occupied single-family residential use without the express permission of Mercer University or its successor-in-interest.
2. Grantee covenants that a violation of the preceding covenant shall entitle Mercer University or its successor-in-interest to injunctive relief and to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in pursuing a petition for injunctive relief.

In the case of existing un-rehabilitated historic homes in the Macon Intown Historic District, the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit is payable only upon completion of substantial rehabilitation. To receive the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit, the home must qualify for the Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program for Rehabilitated Historic Properties, i.e., (a) the property must be rehabilitated in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Natural Resources Georgia Historic Preservation Division, and (b) for an owner-occupied historic home that is to be used as a principal residence, rehabilitation must increase the fair market value of the building by at least 50%.  Property taxes on homes that qualify for the Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program for Rehabilitated Historic Properties will be frozen at pre-rehabilitation valuation levels for a period of eight (8) years.  An income tax credit for historic rehabilitation is also available through the Historic Preservation Division.  The Historic Macon Foundation is an experienced consultant for the design and application process for the Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program for Rehabilitated Historic Properties.

Any rehabilitated home purchased from the Historic Macon Foundation that meets the aforementioned criteria is also eligible for the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit.

Houses in the Huguenin Heights neighborhood that are currently investor-owned or occupied by someone other than the owner will be eligible for the Employee Down Payment Assistance Program, regardless of whether such houses have been previously purchased and rehabilitated by a full-time Mercer employee under the Program.

Houses in the Huguenin Heights neighborhood that Mercer purchases to remove from the rental market will also be eligible for the Employee Down Payment Assistance Program, regardless of whether such houses have been previously purchased and rehabilitated by a full-time Mercer employee under the Program.

Foreclosed properties located in the eligible neighborhoods that otherwise would not qualify for the Down Payment Assistance Program may be — on a case-by-case basis — approved for grants, with the consent of the President of the University and the appropriate Knight Foundation program officer.

In order to qualify for the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit, the property must conform to the following criteria:

1. Location:   Intown Macon Historic District
2. Minimum Square Footage:   900 sq. ft.
3. Minimum Purchase Price:   $60,000

To be eligible to receive the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit, the Employee must provide:

1. a description of the property to be purchased, including the final purchase price or appraised value of the property; and
2. a deed of conveyance that includes the above-described restrictive covenants; and
3. a signed security interest retention agreement with Mercer University; and
4. in the case of rehabilitated homes, a copy of the certified part “B” section of an application to the Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program for Rehabilitated Historic Properties for historic tax credits (as filed with the local tax assessor to qualify for a continuing tax freeze on the property).

The University will issue a letter of intent for the purposes of securing a loan commitment from a lending institution when a contract for a qualifying property is presented.

The availability of the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit is dependent on the availability of budgeted funds in any given fiscal year on a first-come, first-served basis.  The Benefits and Payroll Administration Office of Mercer University must certify eligibility.

To apply for the Employee Down Payment Assistance benefit, or for more information about the program, contact: